


Claro in the Coffin

by Reyanth



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: (No Character Death), BDSM, Bondage, Brainwashing, Captivity, Delusions, Deprevation, M/M, Murder, Rough Sex, S&M, Stalking, Stockholm Syndrome, Suicidal Thoughts, Violence, non-con elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:27:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22361818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reyanth/pseuds/Reyanth
Summary: A contractual cigar. A new, rougher bond of passion. Thoughts, wants, memories, and needs jumbled, lost, and found.Azuma nearly walked away from Reni that night at The Coffin, but if he had, what would have become of their eternal bond?
Relationships: Kamikizaka Reni/Yukishiro Azuma
Kudos: 12





	Claro in the Coffin

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: This story contains many potential triggers. While not every tag is explicitly detailed in so many words, if anything in the tags is a trigger for you, then you may want to give this one a miss.

Chained as he was, an immense knot had developed between his shoulders. Relax them, and his arms threatened to tear from their sockets. Tense them, and the knot fed and thrived—and grew, like a living entity. It burned.

Long-since drained dry of tears, Azuma's head lolled with a hoarse moan of misery. He couldn't even end the nightmare that stretched from moment to moment that once he had called his life. He was powerless.

There was no recourse. There was no negotiation to be had. There was only cruelty.

Again and again, Azuma played out the scenario that had led him to this, trying to change the past by manipulating his memories. In memory, he could be asleep in his bed at the Mankai dorm, wrapped comfortingly about Hisoka, or safely ensconsed in Omi's embrace. In fantasy, he could kiss Sakyo's stern lips one more time before drawing the knife across his skin and finding sweet oblivion. 

Always, the burning nova between his shoulders spoiled the delusion. Azuma could not sleep, could not be made comfortable, could not die. The monster formerly known to him as Reni Kamikizaka saw to that.

It had begun as did all mistakes: in ignorance. A small establishment where the bar shone of obsidian and red velvet lined the furniture was a frequent haunt of lonely but affluent men. Only the most flavorsome of spirts were served, and a gold case housed cigars in individual coffins that could be purchased for a small fortune. On occasion, when he was yearning for a little luxury, Azuma had been known to don a tightly fitted suit, a black fedora (as signified one's availability to the highest bidder), and to occupy a place on a red velvet love seat by the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the glittering Ginza skyline.

He'd thought he was untouchable, a diamond that would tear any assailant to shreds before it suffered the slightest scratch. He'd thought he was aloof and clever, winding rich and naive men about his finger like he did locks of hair. He'd thought he was priceless...but it turned out that everything had a price, even his humanity.

When the successful Reni Kamikizaka of Veludo Way's Godza swept into the bar and promply purchased two cigars, Azuma's appetite for the decadence of the establishment turned to ash in his mouth. He would have left, then and there, but Reni's gaze alighted on him after a cursory scan of the room. A signal to the bar tender, and then the cocksure thesbian made his approach. 

Posturing all the while, Reni extended one of the two coffins he held aloft. "Fancy meeting you here."

On a hunch, Azuma shifted his posture, re-crossing his legs and leaning back leisurely to get a good look at Reni's face. "Don't bother feigning surprise," he said quietly. "You knew very well you could find me here."

"Very well. I won't deny it. Care to enjoy a cigar with me?"

At this establishment, a cigar proffered and accepted was essentially a contract. Azuma contemplated the offering for a moment before taking it from its case. 

"Not yet," he said, however, pocketing the cigar along with the jewelled golden ring that adorned it, announcing its maker. It was against convention to do so, but Reni had given him all the power by so openly declaring his intent. Azuma was still half tempted to leave in a deliberate snub of the rival company's director.

Then the scotch arrived. The aroma tantalized Azuma's senses, informing him that Reni had requested his beverage of choice—which just happened to be a well aged sample of a very expensive brand. The heady scent tickled Azuma's fancy, mellowing his prickly temper.

Taking the glass, he raised it toward Reni, conceding his appreciation in that show of gratitude. Then, he raised the glass to his lips and basked in the flavor of his own private heaven.

Smugly emboldened by Azuma's satisfaction, Reni took the seat beside him with a flourish and sipped silently at his own scotch, eyes trained devotedly upon his intended conquest. When his hand landed softly on Azuma's knee, it was allowed, and his eyes glittered with gratification.

"I could do incredible things with you, Yukishiro," he murmured.

"I'm sure you could," Azuma agreed, his tone only mildly dry.

"I could make you into a star the likes of which Veludo Way has never seen."

"Oh?" Azuma feigned surprise. "Are you here to recruit me? And here I thought you meant to bed me. Shame. I might have been amenable to that."

Making to rise, Azuma was given pause by the hand on his thigh, clenching hard. "Wait," Reni begged him through gritted teeth. "I'll pay any price for that," he continued, sincerity evident in his breathless ardor. "I simply wish you to know that I have more to offer you than premium liquor and high end cigars."

"Stardom? I'm not interested."

"You're an actor!"

"I didn't join the Mankai Company for the reasons you might assume. Enjoyment of the stage is simply a bonus. If you raise the issue again, I will leave, simple as that."

"Don't." Reni's hand slid toward Azuma's inner thigh, still gripping with urgency. "Ah, but you are lovely," Reni sighed. His touch softened and his hand skimmed its way up Azuma's leg, his hip, his waist, his chest...and finally made contact with snowy tresses bound in a tail that sat over Azuma's shoulder. He watched his fingertips disappear, and then ran them through the soft river. "Just tell me one thing," he said at last. "Is there anything Mankai can offer you that I can't? Forget stardom. Please come to Godza. Whatever you have at Mankai, we'll match."

Feeling an odd wave of pity for this shortsighted man, Azuma grasped his fingers and clutched them gently as he spoke stern words. "You can't. Godza doesn't have the one thing that drew me to Mankai, and it can't offer what makes me stay. The dorm, and the people in it. I'm never going to join Godza."

"Then tell me," Reni growled, squeezing Azuma's fingers in his intensity. "How can I make you mine?"

"For tonight? You can buy me a bottle of this scotch and then have Tommy come and cut these cigars..."

In retrospect, all of the signs were there. Worse, Azuma hadn't missed them. In fact, it was that tantalizing sense of danger that had bid him to stay, regardless of his distaste for Reni Kamikizaka and all that the man stood for. 

Reni was attractive enough and expressive enough to have the makings of a good lover, and that dangerous streak of possessive dominance... Azuma had no one to blame but himself.

No longer aware of the cold on his naked skin, and long-since accustomed to being seared by icy stone beneath his knees, Azuma's head burned with fever. His vision swam, and sometimes he felt as though he were floating. When he tried to let the waves take him and the strength was sapped from his taut arms, sharks tore at his joints, ripping him apart. Jarred harshly back to reality, he fought the haze of fever and tried to blink to clear his vision. His eyes were too dry. He'd lost too many precious tears, and been given no water since the manacles first clanged shut about his wrists.

When the fever took him again, the burning knot between his shoulders drew all of his focus. He was immolated in its radiance.

That was the spot where Reni had first kissed him. Sitting on the edge of a queen bed at a swanky love hotel, Azuma had had his back to the man who had bought his desires with scotch, cigars, and an elegant watch. The cuff of his jacket caught on the watch band as he removed the outer layer. At the same time, the fedora was drawn from his head and cast aside, his bound hair springing slightly into Reni's petting touch.

Unbuttoning the white dress shirt he wore, Azuma tilted his head, the skin at the back of his neck tingling a little as Reni caressed his hairline. He shrugged the shirt off his shoulders, baring his upper back, and Reni's fingers immediately began to explore his exposed skin. As Azuma pulled the sleeves down over his hands, one by one, Reni bent over his neck, locating the point between Azuma's shoulder blades and kissing it tenderly.

He didn't stop there. He kissed his way down Azuma's back, surprisingly deft of tongue and lips. The only thing he seemed to lack was patience. 

Unbuckling his belt, Azuma squirmed a little as Reni's fingers blindly sought and found his nipples, stroking and twisting while his teeth grazed over a protruding vertebrae. His urgency spurred Azuma to work faster, unzipping his trousers and lifting his hips a little to make it easier to slip them off. 

The moment he began to push the material downward, Reni acted, hauling him up and back by the waist, and shoving his trousers down to his thighs. Azuma cried out and scrabbled for purchase, knocking from the bedside table the new watch he had removed earlier along with his jacket. He caught hold of a pillow and it came with him, giving him no stability, but at least offering him something to clutch as Reni's tongue ravished his outthrust backside.

Shocked and scandalized by the sudden, rough handling, and the intensity with which Reni went about rimming Azuma like it was his last meal, the sensual actor made no move to discourage his patron. His breath piqued fast, and the strange pose and angle caused blood to rush to his cheeks, even as he grew rapidly more aroused by the moment. The twisting, thrusting tortion of his tongue never slowing, Reni reached around for Azuma's hardened length and began playing with it. At first, it was just the odd stroke, brush, or twist, but little by little, he established a rhythm that became like a short-term addiction for Azuma. Burying his face in the corner of the pillow he still held onto, Azuma moaned.

Briefly, Reni abandoned his asshole to lick and suckle at his balls. By that point, gasping was just breathing in. Accustomed to a slow burn of kisses and petting followed by a passionate inferno, Azuma didn't know what to make of this brutal assault on his pleasure centers. Reni was not unskilled, though, and every touch, lick, and stroke was calculated to bring Azuma to orgasm.

It was working, all too well. The moment Reni's tongue delved back inside his body, Azuma felt his thighs and abs tense. He clenched a fistful of pillow and began to shake with the effort to hold back. Then, he realized the instinct was pointless and relaxed his tense pelvic muscles. As he came, hard and heavily, his belly trembled with minute contractions, his muscles trying to reassert the control he had abandoned.

Panting, he tried to roll over, but he couldn't quite manage it without Reni's help. His neatly pulled back hair was a sweaty mess, strands of it displaced about his face. His trousers were still halfway down his thighs, threatening to rip at the seat if he didn't move more carefully.

Overcome by a brief wave of exaustion, Azuma fell back on his pillow, all twisted about and gazing awkwardly down the warped line of his body at Reni, who wore a pleased smirk.

"What the hell?" he asked, lost for anything more eloquent or specific to say in that disheveled moment.

It wasn't the last time Reni had overwhelmed him, ravishing and molesting him until he lost all control. Sometimes, he came screaming, leaving his throat raw and his voice hoarse. Once or twice, he cried; frustration, need, and unaccustomed shame overflowing.

When Reni took him, it was always a lengthy, heady roller coaster of mounting ecstacy that left him drained of all feeling and emotion afterward. It could never be called lovemaking, or even sex, as Azuma knew it. It was raw, primal, animalistic fucking.

Yet Azuma kept going back for more until he felt that he had lost all sense of his own humanity. After that, he avoided the cigar bar known as The Coffin, and instead sought out alternative hook-up options, hoping for the kind of sultry affair he had once craved. 

He succeeded once. It was dull and uneventful, and his climax was forced and disappointing. The next time he went by the aquarium bar, deciding to put the experience down to a lousy partner...Reni was there, waiting for him.

"We're not through," Reni asserted, stroking Azuma's face with deceptive sweetness. "We'll never be through."

He had been right, of course, because he had no intention of ever realeasing Azuma from his grasp, not even unto death. He fed Azuma soup for minimum sustenance and moisture, inspected and treated chaffing wounds so they would not give over to infection, and provided sexual stimulation on a regular basis, whether Azuma longed for it or not.

He didn't. Reni didn't care.

Then again, he never had done, and still, Azuma had stayed with him. It wasn't love or emotion that drove their torrid fling, it was sheer lust. If Azuma so much as looked at another man, Reni grew jealous. If Azuma feigned love on stage, Reni punished him for its believability with a rough, hardcore pounding. If only that one fan hadn't...

A former client, the affluent older woman had known just enough about Azuma's private life to be allowed backstage. She had slipped into the dressing room, crooning adoration, just as Reni pulled out of a long, deep kiss, his hands wrapped firmly about Azuma's throat.

She was dead now—probably found by the manager or the director, bleeding out from a coat hanger stabbed right through her neck. Still struggling for air, Azuma had collapsed to his knees, losing the contents of his stomach at the horrifying sight.

The back of his skull had exploded, and then darkness had consumed him, and continued to do so ever since. He had no concept of how long it might have been. He tried not to think about it. He tried not to think about anything.

What if he had defected to Godza? Would he be reclined on a deep, comfortable sofa in a fur-lined robe with scotch and cigars, and Reni rubbing his feet?

What if he had never been swayed by smooth liquor, and had simply walked out of The Coffin without saying another word to Reni? Would that woman's heart now still beat? He knew her name, but he couldn't bear to remember it. Her blood, gushing like slick oil, was on his hands. What he wouldn't give to lick it off.

What if...? What if Reni was a different man? What if he was gentler? What if he was kinder? What if he had empathy to spare for another human being and prized Azuma for more than the outer shell?

"I'm home, love."

"Welcome home. How was rehearsal?"

"Atrocious. Haruto is the only one of the lot with any measure of talent."

"Go on. Tell me how you really feel."

"That is how I...! Oh. Don't toy with me, Az. It's been a long day."

"You haven't asked how mine went."

"I might, if you had a job to speak of."

"Who needs a job when I have you to support me? I did have an interesting day, though, as it happens."

"Well? Tell."

"I made a scrapbook of all your programs. Come see. Here you are in The Two Gentlemen of Verona. Oh, and in Sweeney Todd. This Jesus costume from Superstar is one of my favorites..."

"Only you could look at Jesus and get turned on..."

A ridiculous, mundane scenario, but one that dulled the searing knot for a time. It was strange to find that Azuma still had wants—stranger yet to find that a normal relationship with Reni was something he had ever wanted. When had his heart been taken hostage exactly? How, and why? Their affair had never been anything that could or should have led to romance, and yet, somewhere deep in his soul, Azuma had been harboring this secret yearning... This safe place.

Long, soft strokes of the tongue, languid relish of the simultaneous relaxing and arousing effect he had on his lover... Gentle fingers unneringly seeking out and calmly caressing that magical spot deep within... A sweet kiss, right between the shoulder blades...

Azuma cried out without sound beyond a whisper of breath, his heart twisting in his chest at the fantasy that was so beautiful it hurt more than any of his physical afflictions. He tried to fight the thoughts and images that emerged, unbidden, but he had nothing with which to combat them. They subsumed him.

"Happy birthday."

"Happy anniversary."

"Merry Christmas."

"Can't I just cover the bed in rose petals and buy a bottle of champagne because I love you?"

"I love you."

"Love you, too, Ren."

''Ahn... Ren... I lo... Ah!"

"You're here!"

The words didn't quite make it into being, but Azuma's weary face lit up with a smile. His whole body felt more bouyant, and the pain faded to an ache he could ignore.

He tried again, taking a deep breath and summoning his voice from the diaphragm like Sakyo and Tasuku had taught him. This time, faint as they were, the words were intelligable.

"I missed you."

Reni seemed to hesitate, but he took Azuma's chin in his long, dainty fingers, and lifted it so he could read eyes that had been dull and empty for days. What he saw made him raise an eyebrow, and he stared for a long time, expecting to unearth a trap. Azuma merely stared back, smiling as if Reni's gaze were a treat he had been craving and simply couldn't get enough of.

"I suppose you expect me to remove those manacles and bring you up into the light."

Azuma's head swivelled minutely from side to side. "I don't mind," he rasped. "Just...need you."

"Show me," Reni crooned, lowering his face within reach.

Without hesitation, Azuma craned his neck. He winced in pain and almost whimpered aloud, but his lips found Reni's, and that soft warmth consoled him. Reni's lips were moist, his tongue wet... It felt wonderful.

"I'll bring you some water," Reni muttered, frowning.

"Water...!"

There was nothing but delight at the very thought, and when Reni brought him a cup so full it was spilling, Azuma guzzled as fast as his server would allow. A little tipped down his front. It felt cool on his skin.

The sweet, wet liquid was gone all too fast, but it restored to Azuma enough voice to speak his gratitude, and one or two tears to prove his words when he professed his love. Moved, Reni began to feed and bathe Azuma, daily. There were sweet kisses, and occasional rises of passion. Azuma eagerly took Reni into his mouth when prompted, savoring the salty treat if he worked at it hard enough.

Finally, the day came when the ground rushed up to meet him. At first, there was overwhelming agony, but then, for the first time in a very long while—perhaps ever—there was the salvation of oblivion in sleep.

When next Azuma was aware of the world, his back ached fiercely and his mouth was dry, but there was softness against his skin and warm flesh embracing him. He spent a long time savoring everything, from the mild burn in his wrists to the weight of a calf pinning down his ankle. 

"Reni?" he asked, shocked by the volume and near-clarity of his own voice.

"And so, Sleeping Beauty awakes," murmured that expressive voice at Azuma's ear.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Azuma asked, turning to get a look at his Sleeping Beauty.

He knew what Reni had meant, of course, but to Azuma, there was no beauty in the world that could eclipse those sharp features framed by long waves of deep plum. Elegant, dark, and alluring, Reni was the perfect catch.

Even so, it hurt to twist his neck, and Azuma sighed, returning his head to the pillow and closing his eyes. Sensing the obstacle, Reni stroked the problematic muscles, urging Azuma to relax.

"I'll see what I can find at the pharmacy," he said. "Do you...want to come?"

Azuma quickly shook his head. Leave the safety of this bedroom!? Face those outside who would sense his sins and read in his eyes his twisted needs!? Risk running into...former companions? No. Better to return to the basement.

He was too choked with panic to give a verbal response, but Reni understood. He ran his hand down Azuma's arm.

"I'll bring you back a nice treat," he promised, laying a kiss between Azuma's shoulder blades.

"Can't I have one now?" Azuma wheedled, shifting onto his back so he could catch Reni rising.

How long had it been since he had shared in the sexual experience in the flesh? All he had were his memories and fantasies. He want Reni in him, on him, and above all, with him.

"I'll be back soon with something for your back, and then you can have all the treats you want," Reni promised, getting to his feet and patting down his hair as he searched for something to wear.

Azuma felt a smile form on his lips, but it was false, as though he were performing in a feelgood play on a very bad day. "Do you have to put on a suit to go to the shops?" he asked, lightly, feeling as though he was going to cry. Who was Reni dressing to impress? Was he really going to the pharmacy? "Reni?" Sitting up, Azuma stretched his neck a little, stifling a wince. "I'm fine, see? You don't have to go. Come back to bed. Please?"

"Azuma, darling, just relax. I've been meaning to pick up some things for a few days now. I just didn't want to leave you here until I was sure—"

He never saw it coming. The tie used to choke him out was on the floor beside the bed, and it found its way into Azuma's hands while Reni was rifling for the right color of jacket to match his blue-grey trousers.

"Shhh," Azuma soothed, tightening his grip further so Reni couldn't take advantage of his weak state and find an opening. He loved Reni, and so he knew better than anyone how dangerous this man could be. 

"Shhh," he encouraged, stumbling under Reni's weight but keeping the pressure even. Once he ensured that Reni couldn't leave him again, he would make his lover understand that it was for the best.

"Shhh," he whispered, closing his eyes against the pain flaring between his shoulders.

When Reni sagged like a dead weight, Azuma collapsed on top of him, panting with the exertion. His muscles were still pathetically malnourished, his stamina abysmal. He needed to regain some strength so that he could keep Reni from leaving him alone ever again. First, he had to ensure that his lover would stay put until he understood.

Once he had taken care of Reni, Azuma was free to take care of himself. A long, hot bath went a long way toward remedying the twisted knot between his shoulders. The strong, relaxing aroma of a bergamot bath bomb that dyed the water a deep plum made him feel as though he was swathed in Reni's luxurious hair. He began to feel a lot more like himself.

With some apprehension, he stood in front of the mirror and surveyed the damage. He was relieved to find that Reni's recent care had restored much of his skin health. There was color in his cheeks and the circles around his eyes—startling as they were at first—must already have begun fading. There were new lines around Azuma's mouth and forehead that disturbed him, but he had to console himself that it could have been a lot worse, considering the conditions in which he had been kept.

What had Reni been thinking, jeopardizing the looks that were Azuma's most valuable quality? It was Reni himself who would be denied Azuma's full beauty.

Azuma was going to have to work hard to keep Reni satisfied enough not to be tempted to stray again. Even if his looks had faded some, Azuma was still enchanting. He would compensate with his body.

There, in front of the mirror, he began to explore that body, reliving some of the best fantasies he had not been able to fully enjoy at the time. Now, he teased and toyed with himself, getting to know his body again.

He was thinner than he liked. No wonder Reni was losing interest in him. He could fix that.

His hair would need some care, too. It wasn't as soft as it had been. Nutrition, careful application of products and natural treatments, and regular trimming would make all the difference.

As his hands traveled down past his belly, a plan began to form. He would win Reni back by showing the surprisingly kind man what he had been missing in abstaining from that which had brought them together to begin with.

It wasn't hard to find what he needed in the house. Reni had a beautiful mahogany liquor cabinet in his living room. Mostly, it displayed brandy and a few high end whiskeys, but there was also one bottle of Azuma's favorite scotch, half empty.

Pouring himself just enough for a taster, Azuma imagined that Reni had enjoyed it while thinking of him. As he savored the nostalgic taste and slight burn, he blinked away tears.

There were also a set of cigar coffins. Azuma casually inspected the contents. He found himself a nice, pale double claro, reminscent of the ones he and Reni had shared on their first night together. He had kept the jewelled cigar ring for its value, but now he determined to reclaim it for sentimental purposes. As he selected a rare Arturo Fuerte Opus for Reni, Azuma vaguely wondered what had become of his old life. Did his belongings still remain at the Mankai Company? Cutting the two cigars, he considered that perhaps Omi might be willing to deliver some things. Azuma's life was here now, by Reni's side.

Speak of the darling...

"Azumaaa!"

Humming to himself, Azuma balanced scotch, cigars, glasses, and cigar lighter in his hands and the crooks of his arms and returned to the bedroom where Reni still lay on the floor, naked and bound, but too heavy for Azuma to carry on a good day, never mind in his diminished state.

That was fine. The floor would serve.

"What the hell are you...?"

Azuma chuckled, falling in love all over again with Reni's sour gaze.

"I thought we could make today our anniversary," he said, sinking to his knees atop Reni's thighs and setting down his finds. He went to work, pouring two glasses of scotch.

"What are you playing at?" Reni growled, eyes darting from scotch glass to cigar lighter.

Seeing as Reni's hands were bound behind his back, Azuma served himself first, basking in the fine heat that permeated his bones and marrow. He then held some to Reni's lips, tipping slowly so that the spluttering man wouldn't choke.

"There, isn't that better?" he urged, taking up Reni's cigar and toasting it himself.

"Don't you put that in my—"

Ignoring the flustered reaction, Azuma eased the cigar between Reni's lips, then prepared his own. Coughing only a little for the fading of the chill that had infiltrated his lungs, he let the flavorsome smoke relax him. Reni, meanwhile, was puffing furiously away out of the corner of his mouth.

More relaxed than he ever remembered being, Azuma held both cigars and bent to kiss his lover, fragrant smokes blending in much the same way as he and Reni did themselves. "It's all right," he breathed. "I know you just needed me by your side, like I need you. I promise, I'll never leave you again."

"Untie me," Reni said, uncertainty painfully rife in his voice.

"I will, love," Azuma breathed, biting his cigar between his teeth as he raised some scotch to Reni's mouth and encouraged the man to drink. When the glass was empty, it returned to the floor, and Reni's cigar was popped back into his mouth while Azuma tossed back his own scotch. All the while, his hips were sliding back and forth, encouraging the growing lump in Reni's trousers.

He was well hard himself as he alternated between swishing scotch around his mouth and puffing contentedly on his cigar. He wanted Reni so badly his balls felt tight and almost painful. Unable to hold back any longer, he bit down on the cigar, slammed his empty scotch glass on the floor, and began unfastening Reni's trousers.

It wasn't easy to make oneself heard with a big, fat, smoking log in one's mouth, but Reni did admirable job. "'Ave 'oo 'ost 'or 'aing?"

Having already given himself plenty of preparation while reaquainting with his sexuality, Azuma laughed, guiding Reni's hardening length to where he wanted it. His laugh morphed into a groan as his body took Reni in, and he threw his head back, puffing out a cloud of fragrant smoke. 

"I've got nothing left to lose," he said breathlessly, dropping the expensive cigar into the dregs of his scotch and then following suit with Reni's. "Nothing except you." Curling his fingers about the back of Reni's head, he maintained an intent, communicative gaze as he began to ride in a sensuous, lingering gait. 

Reni was the purpose that had always been missing in his life. Bereft of someone to dote on, Azuma had poured his time and effort into himself, but now there was a man just as beautiful—and far more clever and cunning—who could value his devotion. Reni's ambitions would be his, Reni's needs, his own. Mornings in Reni's arms, evenings by his side... All Reni had to do was promise never to leave him.

His nails clawed into Reni's scalp as a thrill of fear snaked through him. He rocked his hips faster, striving harder for the proof of their mutual passion.

"Do you love me?" he whispered, his lips floating near Reni's. The mingled scents of smoke, scotch, and bergamot permeated both of them; breath, hair, skin, and all. Azuma's breath grew ragged as that heady bouquet coursed through him. "Do you?"

"Yes," Reni gasped, his lashes fluttering closed. His neck craned back, bringing his lips closer to Azuma's. "More than you know."

"Do you want to spend your life with me?" Azuma questioned, back arching in a spike of pleasure, though his lips remained just shy of Reni's.

"Is this some kind of double suicide pact?" Reni grunted, bending his knees up and putting his hips to work, using the bed at his back to compensate for his bound hands.

Burying his hands in raven hair, Azuma kissed Reni until his lungs burned. "I'm cumming," he gasped against swollen lips. "Cum with me."

"On three?" Reni asked dryly. Never the less, he thrust up harder, his breath hot against Azuma's cheek. 

Tugging Reni's neck back by the hair, Azuma stared down the line of his nose at the picture of that exotic face enraptured. He kept his eyes open all the while as he stoked himself swiftly with one hand. Reni's thighs quivered, and his body jutted upward, stiffening with release, and Azuma let his own climax take control of his body.

When he came down from the orgasmic high, Azuma was slumped limply over Reni, his face buried in a combination of dark hair and light, entangled beyond differentiation. He thought of unfastening his lover's bonds, but he wasn't quite sure yet. Reni didn't like to give straight answers.

"Why did you leave me down there, alone, for so long?" he asked, not moving a muscle.

Reni's response took a long time, but he spoke frankly.

"I thought I had already lost you," he said softly. "I lost my temper and killed that woman right in front of you. How could you ever love a murderer? The less you saw of me...the better."

Azuma shifted his face a fraction, breathing in the fragrance of Reni's skin, slightly musky with sweat. "You did it because you loved me," he said. "You would do it again, too, wouldn't you? Kill for me."

"In a heartbeat," Reni growled.

"I know you now. I didn't before...but now I do. Stay here with me," Azuma pleaded, lifting himself up to stare imploringly into Reni's eyes. "You won't ever have to feel unappreciated, ever again."

"What have I done to you?" Reni whispered, his eyes wide with some undiscernable emotion.

Azuma swallowed heavily, afraid to answer, but more afraid of letting the silence fill itself. He brought his fingers to Reni's jaw, tracing it gently.

"You've freed me from my coffin. You've cut me," he said. "You've lit me, and you've taken the first draw." His fingers traced Reni's lips. "I'm yours now, one way or another."

"Then you must cut and light and smoke me as well, and perhaps then we can brave the world arm in arm," Reni murmured, a feverish gleam in his eyes.

Azuma smiled, placing a soft kiss on Reni's lips. "I'm so glad you understand," he said, taking up the still smouldering Arturo Fuerte. 

Smiling all the while, he applied the burning tip to Reni's chest and drank in a raw scream. Soon, Reni would be blessed with the same clarity he had found down in the basement...and then, their lives together would truly begin.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, that happened.


End file.
